The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of
Education (ED) enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 (Section 504) in programs and activities that receive
assistance from ED. OCR also enforces Title II of the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II), which is applicable to state
and local governments.

Section 504 requires that:

No otherwise qualified individual with a disability
in the United States ... shall, solely by reason
of her or his disability, be excluded from the
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be
subjected to discrimination under any program or
activity receiving Federal financial assistance ...1

Section 504 and Title II prohibit the discriminatory assignment
of students with disabilities to segregated classes or facilities. These
laws apply to elementary and secondary as well as postsecondary schools. In
elementary and secondary schools,
students with disabilities may be assigned to separate facilities
or courses of special education only when this placement is
necessary to provide equal educational opportunity to them. Any separate
facilities, and the services provided in separate facilities, must be comparable to other facilities and services.

To determine what the educational needs of a student
with disabilities may be, schools must carry out preliminary
evaluation and placement procedures. Specific elements that
must be considered are discussed below.

Evaluation and Placement Procedures

Before placing students with disabilities in any educational
program, schools must evaluate carefully each student’s skills and
special needs. Federal requirements provide standards for proper
evaluations and placement procedures.

The tests and evaluation materials that are used must be chosen to
assess specific areas of the student’s needs. For example, a student
may not be assigned to special education classes only on the basis
of intelligence tests. When a student with impaired sensory, manual,
or speaking skills is evaluated, the test results must accurately
reflect what the test is supposed to measure and not the student’s
impaired skills except where those skills are what is being measured.
Only trained people may administer the tests or evaluation
materials.

Placement decisions must be made by a team that includes people
who know about the student and understand the meaning of the
evaluation information. The placement team must consider a variety
of documented information for each student. The information
must come from several sources, including the results of aptitude
and achievement tests, teacher recommendations, reports on the
student’s physical condition, social or cultural background, and
adaptive behavior.

The placement team must also be aware of different options for
placing the student so that the student is placed appropriately. See
section “Educational Setting,” below.

Educational Setting

The law requires that students with disabilities be educated along
with nondisabled students to the maximum extent appropriate to
the needs of the students with disabilities. This means that students
with disabilities must be assigned to regular courses or classes if
the students’ needs can be met there. Also, decisions on academic
placement must be based on an individual student’s needs.

Students with disabilities may be placed in a separate class
or facility only if they cannot be educated satisfactorily in the
regular educational setting with the use of supplementary
aids and services. For example, students who are blind may be
assisted by readers or may use Braille equipment or specially
equipped computer equipment and remain in the regular
classrooms. However, students with severe learning disabilities
may be assigned to special education classes for part of the day.

Schools that do not offer the special educational programs or
facilities that may be required by a student with disabilities may
refer that student to another school or educational institution.
However, the student’s home district remains responsible
for providing the student a free and appropriate education.
Transportation must be provided at no greater cost than would
be incurred if the student were placed in the home district.

Reevaluations

The performance and skill levels of students with disabilities
frequently vary, and students, accordingly, must be allowed to
change from assigned classes and programs. However, a school
may not make a significant change in a student with disabilities
placement without a reevaluation. Schools must conduct
periodic reevaluations of all students with disabilities.

Individualized Education Program

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires
schools to develop, according to specific standards, an
individualized education program (IEP) for each eligible student
with disabilities. An IEP that meets the requirements of the IDEA
also fulfills the requirements of Section 504 and Title II for an
appropriate education for a student with disabilities.

Procedural Safeguards

Schools must establish procedures that allow the parents or
guardians of students in elementary and secondary schools to
challenge evaluations, placement procedures, and decisions.
The law requires that parents or guardians be notified of any
evaluation or placement action, and that they be allowed to
examine their child’s records.

If they disagree with the school’s decisions, parents or guardians
must be allowed to have an impartial hearing, with the
opportunity to participate in the discussions. A review procedure
must be made available to parents or guardians who disagree
with the hearing decision.

Nonacademic Services and Activities

Students may not be excluded on the basis of disability from
participating in extracurricular activities and nonacademic
services. These may include counseling services, physical
education and recreational athletics, transportation, health
services, recreational activities, special interest groups or
clubs sponsored by the school, referrals to agencies that
provide assistance to students with disabilities, and student
employment.

Discrimination in counseling practices is prohibited. Counselors
must not advise qualified students with disabilities to make
educational choices that lead to more restrictive career
objectives than would be suggested for nondisabled students
with similar interests and abilities.

For more information on student placement under Section
504 and Title II, and on discriminatory practices in student
assignment on the basis of disability, see the list of offices that
contains the address and telephone number for the OCR office
that serves your area at http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/OCR/contactus.cfm or call 1-800-421-3481.

Endnotes

1Under
Section 504 and Title II, a person with a disability is a person who
has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life
activity; or has a record of such an impairment; or is regarded as having
such an impairment. See 34 C.F.R. § 104.3(j) (2008); 28 C.F.R. § 35.104 (2007).
The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (Amendments
Act), P.L.
110-325, amended the ADA and Section 7 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, which contains the disability definition for Section 504. The Amendments Act became effective on Jan. 1, 2009. The Amendments Act affected the
meaning of the term “disability” in the ADA and Section 504, most notably by
requiring that “disability” under these statutes be interpreted broadly. More
information about the Amendments Act is available from OCR’s website at http://www.ed.gov/policy/rights/guid/ocr/disability.html and http://www.ed.gov/ocr/504faq.html.

This publication is in the public domain. Authorization
to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. The publication’s citation should be: U.S.
Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Student Placement in
Elementary and Secondary Schools and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of
the Americans with Disabilities Act, Washington,
D.C., 2010.

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